Shingo Kyōmori
"I love sleep. My life has the tendency to fall apart when I'm awake, you know?” - Shingo Kyōmori Shingo Kyōmori (虚森 真護, Kyōmori Shingo), formerly known under the false name of Primo Evangelisti, is a member of the 9th Division in the Gotei 13. His captain is Saika Rakushun. Appearance Standing at 6-foot-2 tall, Shingo is taller than most people. Shingo has an athletic physique from his on-the-run lifestyle as a human and also his training in the Soul Society. Since his childhood, he has had sectoral heterochromia in his left eye resulting in a very narrow red ring encircling his reddish brown iris which glows and changes hue at random. There is an unknown kanji symbol burned into the back of his head at the base of the scalp which nobody but him knows the meaning of. There are two circular tattoos on the left side of Shingo’s neck where the snake that killed him as a human injected the venom. Though they are not in the exact location of the actual bites as they are perfectly horizontal tattoos over the thick extensor muscle on the left side, he had them tattooed on him long after arriving in Soul Society as his new soul body did not carry out any of the scars of his human body. After joining the Gotei 13 under the 9th division, he decided to have the 9th Division kanji uniquely tattooed within another tattoo; Shingo had a black tattoo of a snake coiling around his right bicep with the head of the snake reaching the middle of his bicep and the “九” symbol on the top of its head. His shihakusho is tempered in modern Italian fashion; his kosode is sleeveless while the shitagi is long sleeved similar to a white button-down shirt. The sleeveless kosode contains the 9th Division insignia on the left chest. The bottom half consists of pant legs under a short skirt in the fashion of old Roman soldiers. He wears his sword in the red Kyōmori family sash given to him from his father during his life in the human world. Personality As a hopeful renaissance man, Shingo is an avid artist, sculptor, a writer and literary enthusiast, inventor, and a man very adept with numbers. His constant thinking leaves him in a state of unawareness as to what is going on outside of his mind, looking dazed and pensive most of the time. Always trying to learn and understand everything new he sees, Shingo maintains a very intrigued and investigative vision whenever faced with something new. The curiosity within can be seen in his direct and piercing stare, often gripping his chin in pose of the ‘Thinking Man’. When meeting interesting people or seeing something he finds interesting, he often makes a finger frame around them from a distance and for what reason no one else knows. His sarcastic and stingy sense of humor is one that finds him laughing at just about anything and even obnoxiously at the expense of others. A young man of Japanese heritage raised under a Catholic household in Italy, Shingo’s religious foundation was shaken by the existence of the Soul Society but his well-instilled beliefs makes him believe that the Soul Society exists under the power and command of God. He does not practice any Catholic ritual but uses it’s teachings to maintain a relatively peaceful attitude in situations of crisis, acting as the mediator in most situations. He enjoys social events and drinking sake though he’s never the one with many eyes on him, never doing much to attract attention to him. Not one to hold his drink for long, other shinigami quote him as being a happy and goofy drunk and “the person they wish he was while sober.” He often quotes his former mentor, Leonardo Da Vinci, Ernest Hemingway, amongst many other notable figures in appropriate situations and says he lives as a scientist by the saying: "Time stands still long enough for anyone who will use it." History Kyōmori was born Shingo Kyōmori in early 1843 on the Italian island of Sardinia in it's capital city, Cagliari, and lived under the false name of Primo Evangelisti. He was born to a Japanese mother and father, though he never knew his mother as his father avoided telling him about her. His father lived under the false name of Giosue Evangelisti, real name Hiroyuki Kyōmori, and was a soldier in a secret division of the Italian army. The Kyōmori lived in low-class societies in Cagliari and Shingo lived roaming the streets, dropping out of school and roaming the streets aimlessly as a rebellion against his famous and expectant father. After his failed attempt with the infamous ''Carbonari'' revolutionary society at assassinating Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte in 1858, the French emperor just before the Franco-Austrian War, Hiroyuki was exiled to the penal colony of Devil's Island in French Guania with Shingo where they spent several months before escaping and crossing the ocean to West Africa. Prior to returning to Italy in 1863 after 5 years, Giosue told his son that his real name was Shingo Kyōmori and many other details about his past while training him to kill and survive on his own. Upon returning to Italy, Hiroyuki decided to attempt to assassinate the then-emperor of Sardinia, Victor Emmanuel II, and assigned a reluctant Shingo to do so. After Shingo was stopped by an elite-masked warrior, he was narrowly saved by Hiroyuki who sustained a serious injury during the rescue and they both traveled across Eurasia as fugitives towards Japan where Hiroyuki searched for refuge under shelter of an old friend there. Upon arriving at their destination in Japan, they were met with the same elite-masked warrior whom Hiroyuki was then killed by after a heated battle. Shingo managed to escape his impending doom but not before vaguely seeing a woman's figure in the corner of the room where his father was killed. After being sent on a boat by the mysterious man who rescued him, Shingo ended up in what is now Baja California seven years later as a gold miner and railroad worker under the roof of Chinese-American laborers. Shingo died a brutal death from a rare strike of lightning on August 25th, 1870. After becoming a plus, Shingo returned to Japan to the same house where his father was killed to discover the woman that he saw during that tragic day, learning that she was indeed his mother. He spent several years in the house learning more about her and the life of his father. One night, the warrior that murdered his father returned to the house and murdered his mother in front of him without him being able to do anything about it (as a plus) though Shingo noticed she did not become a plus like he did. He spent many more years in the house before being sent to Soul Society by a Shinigami that he met passing through the woods near the home and arrived in the Nodokakijuki district of Rukongai South in 1878. Shingo would spend the next 115 years searching unsuccessfully for his mother and father. As a bitter and disturbed man unable to move beyond the events of his life as a human, Shingo became notorious in a southeastern neighborhood in the 60th Rukongai South district before coming under the tutelage of an old hermit named Tsuda Shuichi whom he considered in the same light of his idol, Leonardo Da Vinci. Shingo would spend the next 16 years under his comfort along with the comfort of a young girl affectionately named Jun and after his sensei's death, he decided to join the Gotei 13 after learning of the advanced technologies going on in the 9th Division. Synopsis The Italian Ghost Arc The series begins in a flashback a few years after Shingo had joined the 13 Court Guard Squards. He visits his longtime friend Jun in the 60th district of Rukongai South known as Nodokakijuki''' (長閑起重機, Tranquil Crane) to check up on her for the first time since graduating from the Spiritual Arts Academy. During his visit with her as she is playing at the neighborhood park with other children, Shingo is closely watched by a crowd of skepticists that once knew him from his time living there as the neighborhood's most feared criminal. When Shingo tries to leave with Jun, he is confronted by a neighborhood thug and his friends who are giving him ill looks. Worried about the condition of the neighborhood and Jun, Shingo tries to intimidate the thug from harming anyone else in the neighbohood and his little sister but refrains from harming him, surprising Jun and the neighborhood folk. He leaves with Jun asking him whether or not he is going to see the "old man" (referring to their mutual friend and Shingo's former sensei, Tsuda Shuichi). The events leading up to Shingo's visit are captured in a earlier flashback set three weeks after he joined the 9th Division. While questioning his joining the Soul Society and his current low-level position, Shingo runs into another shinigami, Jinnai, who he believes is a veteran who forces him to buy him a drink at the nearby sake bar. Jinnai convinces Shingo to visit Jun while also telling him of the rules of the Soul Society and his own perception of justice. As they walk their separate ways, Jinnai reveals that he had only joined the 13 Court Guard Squads the previous day and in fact, had yet to report to his own division. Soon after Shingo returns to the Seireitei after visiting the Rukongai, he passes by the Great Spiritual Library, contemplating breaking and entering to search the archives for files on his mother and father. After regaining the resolve to walk away from that issue, he is confronted by two shinigami, Goro and Yoneda, who tell him that he will be accompanying them on a field research mission in the real world. After not having encountered a Hollow in a month after arriving in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Shingo and his partners encounter a Hollow outside their apartment room. Shingo saves a young blind woman who brought about a sense of nostalgia of a woman from his past. Though he saved her, the three Shinigami were unable to save the man escorting her who was killed from the Hollow falling on him. Techniques & Items As a member of the Shinigami Research & Develop Institute, Shingo Kyōmori possesses a number of unique items available only to the 9th Division and the individual Shinigami they are given to. The notable ones Shingo possesses are below: *'''Hebiō Kuukan (蛇王空間, The Snake King Void): It is described as "the bonded essence of a foreign power tying itself to the Officer's spiritual being." Upon joining the 9th Division, all Shinigami are given this in the form of a tattoo designed to his/her desire and is used as part of different techniques taught in the division. Shingo's void tattoo is the form of the 9th Division Thistle insignia which is designed in between the body of a large snake tattoo he has on his back. *'Custom Prometheus Visors': The upgraded data collection lenses known as the Prometheus are form fitted within a pair of headphones, bearing much resemblance the Geordi La Forge VISOR devices, with earphone attachments which can be used for different audio purposes. Powers & Abilities As a young shinigami and one dedicated strictly to the work of a scientist, Shingo does not possess particulary strong spiritual power and has yet to kill a Hollow. However, while he was still alive as a human, he became a very efficient fighter after being trained by his father. Swordsmanship Specialist: Having dealt with swords all his life and having been trained in the art by his father who was an elite soldier, Shingo possesses above average skills as a swordsman. He has stated before that even if he did learn the Shikai of his zanpakutō, he would prefer to fight with it in it's sealed form. Strategist & Tactician: Due to his status as a member of the 9th Division and the Shinigami Research & Development Institute, Shingo has access to above average devices and techniques to help him during battle. Zanpakutō Taiyōrinmaru (太陽輪丸, Solar Ring) In its sealed state, Shingo's zanpakutō looks like a regular katana. The crossguard is a roughly rectangular shape with crown designs on either long side and two round Suns on either of the edge sides. The hilt and scabbard are both deep red. *'Shikai': Not Yet Revealed *'Bankai': Not Yet Achieved Quotes *(To Jinnai and the bartender) "I forgot my wallet in my q-quarters." *(To Jinnai) "I can’t believe you! Unbelievable! What makes you think you can tell me about all these rules and crap?! I’ve been here longer than you!" *(To Hayao) "I’m letting them take care of themselves. I’m not superman, Hayao," *(To Hayao) "Besides, I made a promise to the old man... And these people couldn't take anything from me even if they wanted to." *(To Hayao) "You’ll do fine without me. With all the time I spend here scaring away customers, you’ll finally get enough money to fix that stool before it hurts somebody." *(To Chiaki's grunts) "Both of your lives are going to end, gentlemen, unless you make the wise decision to walk away... If there ever was a time for you to momentarily throw your pride to the side, this would be it. I will kill you." *(To Chiaki after taking his sword) "I can’t stop you when I’m gone but I can at least do this... Besides, this isn't even a real zanpakutō." *''"Fear not for the future. Weep not for the past."'' *(To Goro and Yoneda) "And how long am I going to have to put with.. I mean 'carry' your crap?" *(Regarding the blind girl and the Hollow) "What are you doing? Protect the girl! Get her out of here!" Trivia *After being killed by a venomous bite to the neck by a Red Diamond rattlesnake, Shingo had two small circles tattooed on the left side of his neck right next to each other to symbolize where the snake bit him. *Shingo has secotral heterchromia in his left eye which is the cause of the thin red ring around the reddish-brown iris of his eyes. *Shingo maintains a fashionable wardrobe, having customized three different types of shihakusho and often shops for new clothes and accessories while in the human world. *His theme song is Wild Beasts' "The Devil's Crayon (Daytrotter Sessions Version)".